A transceiver is typically configured to connect a network device such as a switch, a distribution box, a computer input/output port, etc., with an optic fiber or an unshielded twisted pair (“UTP”) cable. There is an ongoing trend in transceiver design to decrease the size of the transceiver while increasing the number of available ports. A Small Form Pluggable (SFP) transceiver is an example of a transceiver with a small size and low power consumption configured for an optical communication application in telecommunication or data communication. Moreover, SFP transceivers conform with the SFP+ standard, meaning they also incorporate a signal modulation function, a serializer/de-serializer, clock and data recovery functions and an electronic dispersion compensation function onto a circuit board, without sacrificing their small size and low power consumption.
A connector of a conventional transceiver includes a plug receiving passageway and a plug pluggable into the plug receiving passageway. The plug is commonly an optical transceiver module. The optical transceiver module will generate considerable heat while the connector is in operation. If the generated heat fails to be dissipated in a timely way, the temperate of the connector will rise rapidly, which degrades the quality and reliability of the transceiver.
Conventional transceivers employ a variety of heat dissipation structures to facilitate the removal of the generated heat. For example, a plurality of heat dissipation holes are disposed on a housing having the plug receiving passageway. A fan is positioned in a cabinet where the housing is located, enabling air to flow through the housing to dissipate the generated heat. In another example, a large metal heat sink is positioned on the outside of the housing to increase the available surface area available for heat dissipation.
The problem with these conventional heat dissipation structures is that the fan and metal heat sink occupy considerable space inside the cabinet. Their considerable size prevents their use in applications requiring structurally compact transceivers.
Therefore it is desirable to provide a structurally compact connector that dissipates heat quickly and efficiently.